Alexander Cashford was beaten to death on a seaside promenade in broad daylight one Sunday last summer.
The attack, witnessed by passing holidaymakers, had been planned in advance and carried out with cruel efficiency.
First, the 49-year-old was lured to the rendezvous at Leysdown-on-Sea, a family-friendly resort on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent. Then, he was ambushed.
Attempting to flee his pursuers, Mr Cashford was struck with a bottle and then, falling to the ground, had rocks thrown at his head. A kick to his chest – likened to someone striking a football – broke six ribs and in all probability caused his death.
As stunned bystanders rushed to the dying man’s aid, his trio of attackers gloated about what they had done.
‘F***** him up…dropped him…he’s on the deck,’ bragged one. Another was seen leaving the scene with a smirk on his face, ‘like he had just won the candy out of the candy shop’.
The third had filmed a video of the whole thing, excitedly shrieking along at what she was witnessing unfold. The footage was later forwarded to friends with the caption: ‘F***** pedo up LOL’.
So who would carry out such a barbaric, brazen crime like this?
Alexander Cashford (pictured), 49, was found dead on the beach in the Isle of Sheppey in Kent on August 10 last year
Mr Cashford was lured to Leysdown-on-Sea, a family-friendly resort on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, where he was ambushed
Three teenagers – two boys aged 15 and 16 and a girl, also 16.
Yesterday, after a month-long trial, the younger boy and the girl had denied but were found guilty of manslaughter. The older boy had previously pleaded guilty to the same charge. All three were acquitted of murder by the jury.
Because of their age, none can be identified.
Adjourning the case for pre-sentence reports, judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said of the defendants: ‘These verdicts will change their lives for ever.’
She added: ‘There was a man, Alexander Cashford, who died, and we also bear in mind that tragedy.’
The court heard how his killers had branded the electrician a paedophile before executing a plan to inflict ‘rough justice’ on him.
Indeed, giving evidence, the older boy suggested he had done the ‘right thing’ by attacking Mr Cashford.
Woolwich Crown Court was told how Mr Cashford had met the girl by chance as she and another teenager sat in an amusement arcade. He approached them, gave them his business card and left.
The 16-year-old girl was initially approached by Mr Cashford in an amusement arcade in Leysdown-on-Sea in Essex
Mr Cashford, 49, was attacked with a bottle in an assault captured on a mobile phone by the girl
Later she met with the older boy, who saved Mr Cashford’s number on his phone under the name ‘Pedo’. And so their plan began.
‘Hi it’s the girl from the arcade but to let you know I am 16 if u care about that kind of thing,’ the first text from the trio read.
Mr Cashford replied: ‘What’s your name? You’re rely [sic] pretty.’
Claiming to be called Sienna, over the next two days a further 75 text messages would be exchanged. In the conversations Mr Cashford said that her age did not put him off and claimed that he was 30 years old.
The messages culminated on the day of his death, with Sienna saying she wanted to meet up, that they could go to her house as her parents would not be there, and asking him to bring alcohol.
‘I’d really like to kiss you,’ Mr Cashford messaged Sienna. She replied: ‘I’d really like to kiss u too.’ And so the trap was set and later sprung – with devastating consequences.
Giving evidence, the older boy would seek to justify his actions by claiming the man’s behaviour leading up to the incident had in some way merited the attack.
He said he had planned to ‘hit’ Mr Cashford a few times because he was ‘trying to get with a 16-year-old’ girl which he thought was ‘wrong’. He added that he believed if they had told police about what had happened, they would ‘not have done anything’.
Attempting to flee his pursuers, Mr Cashford was struck with a bottle and then, falling to the ground, had rocks thrown at his head
Mr Cashford was killed after being lured to a remote part of Leysdown-on-Sea in Essex
But, as the jury was told by the prosecution, as ‘distasteful’ as they might find Mr Cashford’s behaviour, ‘this isn’t Lord Of The Flies’ – a reference to the famous novel about young boys who descend into savagery.
This is a point addressed by Detective Chief Inspector Neil Kimber, of Kent Police, who told the Daily Mail that Mr Cashford had not broken the law in his interactions with the girl. The legal age of consent is 16.
‘There was nothing illegal about his actions. Whatever people’s views are, he certainly didn’t act illegally,’ said DCI Kimber. ‘We deal with the incident based on the evidence and the legal standing. Really, it’s not a moral judgment, it’s an evidential judgment on what the law says.’
And, as DCI Kimber rightly observed, there has been no shortage of ‘views’ expressed about the case – with some even going so far as to praise the teenagers as ‘heroes’.
‘Fair play to the lads,’ wrote one commentator online. ‘They need a medal not prosecution.’
Others have expressed their horror at the behaviour of the trio, saying that whatever Mr Cashford had done clearly did not merit his death.
What the jury did not hear is that when he died Mr Cashford was wearing an electronic ankle tag, having previously been convicted of stalking.
He appeared in court last year accused of following a 24-year-old woman home from her work and then visiting her house in the early hours of the morning, where he posted a chocolate bar and a letter through her door.
Mr Cashford was hit with a bottle which caused him to fall to the ground
He visited the address first at 1.39am and then seven minutes later at 1.46am on March 9.
Mr Cashford duly admitted a charge of stalking involving serious alarm and distress at North Kent Magistrates’ Court and was placed on a month’s curfew. He was also fitted with an electronic tag imposing a curfew at his home in Rainham, Kent, between 8pm and 6am. It was to remain in place until September 16.
He died on August 10, having arranged to meet the girl at 6.45pm so as not to breach that curfew.
At the time of his death, Mr Cashford was working as an electrician and had recently been carrying out work for his parents, with whom he had lived in Rainham for much of his life.
One of three siblings, neighbours described him as a ‘nice guy’ who would always greet them with a wave.
His three attackers were in Leysdown on holiday, having travelled there separately from their homes in London. The girl and the younger boy knew one another and had previously visited the resort on a number of occasions.
While at the coast they had met the older boy, also a regular visitor.
On August 8 the girl was at an amusement arcade when Mr Cashford sat next to her and gave her his business card.
Police at the scene in the Leysdown-on-Sea resort on the Isle of Sheppey following Mr Cahsford’s death
Over the next two days, the trio used the older boy’s phone to exchange dozens of messages with the victim, who believed he was speaking to Sienna.
In them, Mr Cashford said he was not ‘put off’ by her age and that he thought she was ‘lovely’.
The jury heard that the victim started to try to arrange a day and time to meet her, claiming to be working nights, to which she replied: ‘Are you asking me out?’
Mr Cashford responded that it would depend on her answer and went on to say: ‘I cannot believe you do not have a boyfriend.’
The pair originally arranged to meet on August 9, but Sienna cancelled, telling the 49-year-old that she was ‘out with friends’.
Further texts were exchanged, which included Mr Cashford asking the teenager if she liked champagne, as he had a bottle he had been saving, and they agreed to see each other on August 10, meeting at the beach wall.
The court heard that Mr Cashford messaged: ‘I will have to dream of you until then. I really want to kiss you.’
In response, a reply came from Sienna that read: ‘I really want to kiss u too. Give me vodka, and I will be all over you.’
Mr Cashford was pronounced dead just over an hour after he had met with a 16-year-old girl on the seafront, the court heard (Pictured: Police at the scene on August 10, 2025)
Mr Cashford replied: ‘I will definitely get you vodka then.’
What happened when they met was captured on CCTV, shown to the jury.
The two boys were seen ‘fist-bumping’ one another and then following Mr Cashford and the girl for about 850 metres. The older teenager was armed with an empty glass bottle.
Further footage recorded on the phone of the older male teenager by the girl at 7.08pm showed the attack unfold.
In the footage the female defendant can be heard shouting: ‘F***ing paedophile, I’m f***ing 16,’ and ‘Get him.’
The older boy hit Mr Cashford around the head and body. As he ran away, the younger boy tripped and fell to the ground, hitting his head.
The girl could be heard shouting: ‘Get him, f***ing nonce,’ and then the recording stopped. The video was later sent by the older boy to three different people.
Passers-by told the court how they had seen the man lying on the beach being pelted with rocks by the older boy.
‘The teenager then also kicked him in the stomach/ribs,’ Kate Blumgart KC, prosecuting, told the court. ‘Mr Cashford did not react at all, he was lying face down in the mud.’
Police search the area around Leysdown-on-Sea, Kent in the aftermath of the incident
‘He had a very badly damaged nose, with blood on the outside and… a ping pong ball-sized lump on the back middle-left of his head.’
Despite the best efforts of paramedics, he was declared dead at the scene shortly after 8pm.
Forensic pathologist Dr Anna Biddlestone, who carried out the post-mortem examination, found more than 30 external injuries on his body and concluded that chest injuries were the most likely cause of his death.
Following his arrest, the 16-year-old boy, who is 6ft 4in tall and whose parents described him as a ‘gentle giant’, told officers: ‘I’m a big guy – if I wanted to kill him I would have.’
In custody the boy asked: ‘Do you know how long I might get?’ before having his phone seized and refusing to provide his PIN.
The prosecution argued that the attack on Mr Cashford had been a joint one and that they had set a ‘deliberate trap’ – with ‘each of them playing a vital part’.
The older boy, who suffers from autism and gave evidence with the aid of an adult intermediary, said the plan had been to ‘just meet up with [Mr Cashford] and hit him a few times’. He claimed to have had no idea he had struck him enough to kill him. He admitted forwarding the video because he was ‘showing off’.
The younger boy claimed he had only followed to make sure the girl ‘was safe’ and that he had not planned to attack Mr Cashford.
The female defendant was the only one of the three not to give evidence.
Ms Blumgart said the girl’s ‘unwavering enthusiasm for the venture can be heard in the shrieks in the video’ that she recorded.
But her barrister claimed that what had happened was ‘a childish escapade’ that got out of hand.
In a character reference submitted to the court, a relative of the girl claimed the attack was out of character,
saying: ‘She has always shown respect to others. She has shown consideration and empathy beyond her years.’
Maybe. But the distinguishing feature of the case was how the actions of three children could so brutally have come to end a man’s life.